Little Dailo
Little Dailo is exactly what it sounds like: a little version of its original restaurant, Dailo, run by chef Nick Liu in Little Italy.
Located in Assembly Chef’s Hall, this restaurant is an adventurous and modern take on Asian food. Here, Liu continues the tradition of serving up his twists on Hakka and other Chinese dishes to create what he calls New Asian cuisine.
Lunch items include an Asian slaw ($4.95) with tamari lime dressing and a truffle fried rice ($6.95), which is a classic Chinese rice with eggs, carrot, and edamame made extra divine with some black truffle.
There's also a sweet and sour pork hock ($14.95) that contains no ketchup, dyes, or preservatives. Braised in a master sauce and de-boned, the pork hocks are glazed with sauce before being tossed with almonds and fried onions.
Peking duck lovers won't want to miss the crispy Peking glazed confit duck wings ($31.95 for six pieces), a creative rendition of the Chinese classic.
Before being deep fried, the duck wings are confit, then topped with traditional garnishes like scallion and served with pancakes for rolling.
They may seem expensive, but aside from the fact that this has always been a gourmet dish, the portion is big and definitely shareable.
Hector Vasquez